MIT & US Navy CO2 to Liquid Fuel

We have many times documented the development, by various branches of the United States military, over the course of many decades, of technologies wherein Carbon Dioxide extracted from the environment can be converted into liquid hydrocarbon fuels.

Such development efforts have even led to the filing for US Patents, by US Department of Defense contractors, all as we have previously reported to the West Virginia Coal Association, for such astonishing things as a "Fuel Production Ship", which is designed to extract Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen from sea water, and to synthesize liquid hydrocarbon fuels from them.

Herein, we submit a Masters Thesis from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, written by a US Navy officer apparently attending graduate school there while still serving on active duty, which reveals some of the technology intended to facilitate such conversion of Carbon Dioxide into liquid hydrocarbons.

This thesis evaluated the generation of synthetic fuels for the propulsion of naval aircraft and ships, on the premise that this could be a useful contribution to the logistical support of deployed naval forces. The feedstocks for the fuel are produced from the ubiquitous hydrogen and carbon dioxide available (with appropriate processing) in seawater. Previous work in this area, most of it one or two decades old, was reviewed, as were significant developments since. Various end product synthetic fuels were studied including hydrogen, methanol, and naval fuels (jet fuel and naval distillate) together with their respective applications. In addition the synthetic fuel is a recycled product, one that produces zero net carbon dioxide, thereby capable of - if adopted on a larger scale - mitigating the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide accumulations now underway.

A large "nuclear fleet oiler" was identified as the preferable platform to provide sufficient fuel for a deployed carrier battle group. It ... employs a catalytic conversion chemical plant of proven technology to produce approximately 8200 barrels per day. This capacity amounts to about 55% of the capacity of the terrestrial New Zealand natural gas-to-gasoline synthetic fuel plant, which is the premier present day commercial application of this technology."

------------

We have documented the "New Zealand natural gas-to-gasoline synthetic fuel plant" for you previously, where Methane, primarily, is being converted into liquid hydrocarbon fuels. And, remember: We can make Methane, via the Sabatier process, from Carbon Dioxide.

However, that example is far, far from the only specific and practical example Terry employs in his rather thorough treatment of the subject.

He covers a lot of ground, and reveals that much of the technology for converting Carbon Dioxide into liquid fuels is based on already-established technology for converting Coal into liquid hydrocarbons.

Among the precedent and exemplary technologies he cites and explains are SASOL's and ExxonMobil's several processes for converting Coal into a variety of liquid products; and, he specifies the "MTG"(r) technology as a chemical pathway which does, and would, enable the conversion of both Coal and Carbon Dioxide into liquid fuels.

One point of contention, aside from the implication that nuclear power might be required: Terry posits that "most of" the precedent "work in this area" was, in 1995, "one or two decades old".

Presuming you to seen some of our recent previous reports, you will know that it was at least three decades old, since, by 1965, the US Air Force, at Ohio's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, had already, for several years, been studying and developing the technology for converting Carbon Dioxide into liquid aviation fuels.

Twitter

This Little Lump of Coal: Millions of years ago, swamps covered vast areas of earth. As plants in the swamps died… https://t.co/loKGNvJLkp